France really showed their true qualities in the second half of their opening match against Senegal, as Les Bleus went on to secure a 3-1 victory.
France have now seen six of their last eight matches across all competitions produce over 3.5 total goals. Dider Deschamps' side have won all but one of those high scoring games, with the exception being a 2-2 draw with Iceland back in October.
Iraq had played out a creditable 1-1 draw with Spain in a friendly match before the World Cup began, but their next tough test against Norway on matchday one highlighted their defensive frailties.
Over 3.5 goals were produced in that defeat against Norway, and Iraq saw five of their qualifying matches for the World Cup witnessed at least four goals, so you can see why we're predicting another goal-fest on Monday.
Kylian Mbappe is chasing down the World Cup goal record in this tournament, and scoring a brace in his opening game against Senegal will have given him even more confidence in his ability to achieve that goal at the 2026 World Cup.
Lionel Messi's hat trick against Algeria put him level with Miroslav Klose on 16 goals, but Mbappe is now level with Gerd Muller on 14, just one behind the Brazilian Ronaldo. Mbappe is going to get plenty of opportunities against this Iraqi defence, and you wouldn't bet against him scoring the opening goal.
France 4-0 Iraq
